The Raincoats - The Kitchen Tapes (1983)



The Raincoats to jeden z "dziwaczniejszych" żeńskich zespołów, który debiutował na samym początku punkowego boomu lat 80-tych. Przyznam się, że wówczas nie słuchałem tej grupy, ale po latach wpadło mi w ręce to wydawnictwo i prezentuje je na zasadzie czystego eksperymentu. Muzyka grana przez dziewczyny może wydać się niektórym kocią-muzyką, ale brzmi kompletnie inaczej od punkowego rzępolenia tysięcy podobnych wtedy stylistycznie zespołów. Brzmienie grupy jest przedziwne. Zapraszam do posłuchania.

Vicky Aspinall - Piano, Violin, Vocals,
Gina Birch - Bass, Guitar, Vocals,
Ana Da Silva - Guitar, Vocals,
Richard Dudanski -Drums, Percussion,
Derek Godard - Drums, Percussion,
Paddy O'Connell -Bass, Guitar, Sax



In 1982 Neil Cooper, ROIR founder, approached Ruth Polsky, The Raincoats American coordinator, with the concept of recording them live at The Kitchen For The Performing Arts, in NYC, where they were scheduled to perform.

In 1982, after a brief national tour, The Raincoats were stranded in New York City without money to return to England. Perhaps this is the main reason Shirley O'Loughlin, The Raincoats long time manager, and the ladies themselves agreed to the project, interim financing, so to speak.

We brought in a four track Dorkorder and engineer John Hanti to record the show on December 12, 1982. When we went to the studio to master, the band and their manager were sitting in the mastering booth with glum faces. The two off-the-board tracks had not picked up anything, a potential disaster! I asked the engineer to run the two ambient tracks,and they were magnificent! The live to two track tapes really worked! In 1983, ROIR released "The Kitchen Tapes" as cassette number A-120, to glowing reviews and substantial international sales.

We believe "The Kitchen Tapes" is by far The Raincoats best and most representative recording, as the ladies really "cut loose" and were not limited by studio restrictions, which can produce anxiety, apprehension, and caution in a young band used to playing before a live audience. (liner notes by Greil Marcus)



The Raincoats were one of the most experimental bands that immediately followed the initial burst of punk rock in the late '70s. With their minimalistic approach to guitar-driven folk-rock, the band developed a distinctive, jagged sound, punctuated by a shrill violin. The Raincoats were also one of the first all-female post-punk bands, which wasn't common in the late '70s and early '80s. When they were recording, the band gained a small cult following in their native England and an even smaller audience in America; they broke up in 1984. Nearly ten years later, the band became a hip name in alternative rock, thanks to Kurt Cobain's mention of the group in the liner notes to a Nirvana album. Geffen picked up the rights to the Raincoats' catalog and reissued their albums in late 1993 and 1994. The band reunited and toured with Nirvana in the U.K. before heading out on their own tour of the U.S. in 1994. Two years later, the Raincoats released Looking in the Shadows, which was produced by Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley. "The Kitchen Tapes" are the legendary live recording taken at The Kitchen For The Performing Arts, NYC recorded on December 12th, 1982.AMG Review:"Rough, loose-limbed, warm, exciting and everything you'd expect from the Raincoats onstage. Bolstered by the heavy percussion of Richard Dudanski and Derek Godard, this recording pulsates, while the band dances around the beat tossing in shards of guitar, vocals and violin" - John Dougan

Recorded live at The Kitchen For The Performing Arts, NYC on Sunday, December 12, 1982

link in comments

2 komentarze:

  1. Anonimowy7/10/09

    Dodam, ze w 1979 roku panie przyjechaly do Polski zagraly koncert, ktory bardzo mocno zainspirowal pierwszych warszawskich punkowcow do tworzenia wlasnej muzyki (zdaje sie, ze po tym koncercie Lipinski i Luter zalozyli Tilt)...

    OdpowiedzUsuń
  2. i w ramach jakiejś wymiany studenckiej to było, chyba Maciej Góralski (Magura - Kryzys) je sprowadził

    OdpowiedzUsuń

    Serpent.pl